The Blue Pearl (Aoi shinju) 72 years old

Though recognized worldwide almost exclusively for his colorful kaiju fare, director Ishirō Honda (Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra) was a natural humanist with a particular understanding of the relationship between people and their social environs. His debut fiction feature, The Blue Pearl (Aoi Shinju) – virtually unseen in the west until now – depicts the melodramatic, but keenly-observed interplay between a young man from Tokyo and two ama (pearl divers; literally “women of the sea”) in a superstitious coastal town. Though raised within the same tradition-bound crucible, the two women – Noe and Riu – are portrayed as diametric opposites; the former meek but affectionate, the latter strong-willed but jaded by a tryst with metropolitan life. Nonetheless, Honda provides equal weight to their desires and their ambitions to break free from the social mold imposed upon them from birth.

Credits

Takashi Shimura as Lighthouse Man

Ryō Ikebe as Nishida

Kokuten Kôdô as

Yukiko Shimazaki as Noe

Yuriko Hamada as Riu

The Blue Pearl Cast

Name	Character
Takashi Shimura He was 46, 76 years old when he died	as Lighthouse Man
Ryō Ikebe He was 33, 92 years old when he died	as Nishida
Kokuten Kôdô He was 64, 72 years old when he died
Yukiko Shimazaki She was 20, 82 years old when she died	as Noe
Yuriko Hamada She was 35, now 37 years old	as Riu

The Blue Pearl Crew

Name	Department
Sôjirô Motoki as Producer. He was 37 (62) years old when He died	Production
Ishirō Honda as Director. He was 40 (81) years old when He died	Directing
Ishirō Honda as Writer. He was 40 (81) years old when He died	Writing
Kihachi Okamoto as Second Unit Director. He was 27 (81) years old when He died	Directing
Kihachi Okamoto as Assistant Director. He was 27 (81) years old when He died	Directing
Tadashi Hattori as Music. He was 25 (now 47) years old	Sound

The Blue Pearl (72 years)

Release day: Friday, August 03, 1951
Runtime: 99 minutes